The plan requires residents to give up some of their land to widen the street and create a sidewalk.
Fed up with losing part of their front yard, Jori Green's neighbors moved out.
"I don't think this neighborhood should be made into a cookie-cutter subdivision. It would take the beauty of the neighborhood," Green said.
Carrie Shamblen signed a petition going around Garden Oaks to stop the city of Houston from widening Alba Street and adding sidewalks, curbs and gutters.
"You think that will do something?" we asked Shamblen.
"No. I hope it does," she said.
This storm water drainage plan would alleviate flooding issues in nearby Shepherd Park Plaza. It's Phase 1 of a three-part plan that costs $18.5 million.
"In the morning it's already hard to get out just to go to work or school," Shamblen said.
Another issue is safety.
Neighbors in favor of the sidewalks say they need somewhere to walk away from busy street.
"Are you concerned about traffic? We've heard some say when you widen the roads, you're going to have more people using this cut through," we asked neighbor David Suhler.
"Well they use it like a race track now," he said.
Construction is set to begin next year.
